As treaties and trade agreements are implemented this year, more U.S. companies are looking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for fresh business opportunities. Fortunately, a whole host of logistics and transportation service providers are laying the groundwork to overcome inherent infrastructure challenges.

Today, U.S. trucking companies face more regulations than any time in history—and they claim this “regulatory tsunami” is putting the clamp on U.S. productivity. During this session shippers will gain a better understanding of the current state of trucking regulations (HOS & CSA) and the impact they're having on capacity and rates.

TrakLok makes upgrades to flagship offering

By Jeff Berman, Group News Editor
August 09, 2013

Knoxville, Tenn.-based TrakLok, a company focusing on security systems for the radiological/nuclear, chemical, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries, recently rolled out upgrades to its flagship GeoLok offering.

GeoLok provides shippers and motor carriers with one-stop shopping for trailer and container security by combining locking with monitoring, tracking, and reporting that can be deployed in a standalone system or integrated with various fleet management systems.

TrakLok CEO Tom Mann explained to LM earlier this year that GeoLok functions as a lock on the back of a truck trailer with a sophisticated system that monitors the security of cargo and instantaneously reports security breaches via cellular and satellite networks. Authorized personnel, he said, can easily move the device from container to container in seconds. TrakLok also offers a geofencing capability prohibiting the lock from opening if it is outside a prescribed area. GeoLok provides shippers and motor carriers with one-stop shopping for trailer and container security by combining locking with monitoring, tracking, and reporting that can be deployed in a standalone system or integrated with various fleet management systems.

The device is located on the outside of the trailer located between the two most innermost bars and is about the size of a small laptop computer. It can be installed in about a minute and serves as what Mann described as an obvious physical deterrent to foul play.

With its upgrades, TrakLok said that the next generation of the GeoLok product is designed to fit a broader range of Trailers, features a lighter, easier to install platform while retaining the robust physical security, alarm system, and tracking features of their original system.

In an interview with LM, Mann said that the new upgrades were based on various things he felt the company needed to work on and address, including GeoLok’s weight, pricing, and operating range.

“We had to control our weight; the entire lock was close to 30 pounds and was kind of unwieldy for people and we needed a special tool to attach it to a trailer,” he said. “People liked the strength of the lock but were not comfortable using it, so we integrated the locking mechanism inside the lock so that the ratching mechanism is integrated into the lock and does not need a special tool and the lock weighs half of what it did last year—down from 29 pounds to 15 pounds. It is ease of use. People were not uncomfortable with the size and weight of it. Bringing the weight down to 15 pounds does not sound like much but when you are on the ground installing it onto a trailer 30 pounds can be heavy.”

In regards to pricing, Mann said TrakLok was getting a lot of pushback from carriers saying GeoLok was too expensive, which he thought was odd because while the $3,950 price seems like a lot of money, it came down to about $90-$100 a month.

“We thought for security that is not a lot of money, but feedback from the trucking sector was that it was just out of reach for them,” he said. “Our original lock was at $3,950 and the new lock is $2,450. We took a big discount on price to make it more available, and we believe it will open up the market because it is geared for customers with very high value cargo like radiological and nuclear and other chemicals and high value pharmaceuticals—and now mid sized shippers can use it too. Our goal is to work with someone after a theft that is discouraged, and a smaller price point allows that.”

Another key upgrade was increasing GeoLok’s operating range. Mann explained that the first generation of TrakLok was specific to intermodal ISO containers, noting that trucking companies were interested in the product but it did not fit their trucks.

“So for the companies that were desperate for it, we took a bracket to their truck and put a lock on the bracket,” he said. “We have also increased the operating range by 300 percent so now it works on a broad range of trailers without adding a bracket system. It also now fits directly onto a trailer now. There were very few trailers we fit and ISO containers are bigger than most trailers. And the lock is half the width that it used to be, and this is what lets us be competitive in the trucking industry and we can now fit onto a trailer.”

About the Author

Jeff BermanGroup News Editor

Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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